I Can't Lose You
by DarkHeart89
Summary: "My mind is clearer now. I remember what I was to tell you." He gestured around. "There are cryogenic pods in the mother ship that serve as the detention centers for those taken by the disintegration beams. Superboy, Aqualad, Artemis, and the rest of the League should be among them. Our mission holds a purpose after all." / AU Spitfire "Failsafe" one-shot


I Can't Lose You

Summary: "My mind is clearer now. I remember what I was to tell you." He gestured around. "There are cryogenic pods in the mother ship that serve as the detention centers for those taken by the disintegration beams. Superboy, Aqualad, Artemis, and the rest of the League should be among them. Our mission holds a purpose after all." The relief in his voice was nothing compared to the relief in Wally's heart.

Rating: T

Pairing: Spitfire [Artemis Crock and Wally West]

AN: This is unreal. I never thought I would return this fandom, let alone with a story like this one. I knew I wanted to write something for this, now that I'm more literate and a much better writer than I was before, but this one - I'm really proud of it. I've missed this fandom and I've missed Spitfire. I've been rewatching and I even intend on getting back into RPing Wally, so this is a very exciting time for me. I'd diverted to the Marvel fandom for quite a while [and I'm still in it], but I have to make a small return.

I'm hoping to get some more things out, as well as maybe update some of my old things. I had some good ideas, but the execution was poor. I have a better grasp on characters and my writing style now, so I should hope that everyone will enjoy these more than my old things.

Reviews would be AMAZING, so please tell me if this is an improvement for my old work. I really think so. I can't even look at my old stuff because I'm afraid to see what I would find.

Hope you all love it as much as I do! Without further ado, I give you my AU interpretation of Failsafe. 

[OoOoOoO]

" _No, he's gone..._ " M'gann uttered mentally, heartbroken, as she sunk to the ground. Tears streamed down her face and Wally whirled, all too familiar with the feeling to join her, at least as he'd watched. The only drive he had during this war was knowing he'd be able to see _her_ again - knowing that it wouldn't be permanent. It /couldn't/ be permanent.

He dropped to her level, grasping her upper arms loosely in his hands. "It's all right," He tried to insist, needing to reinforce the reality of this. "We'll find him with Artemis, I know it." His voice fierce in determination, whether it to be make her feel better or to make himself feel better, he was still unsure. It was hard to process much when all he'd been doing for the past few hours was replaying her supposed death over and over in his mind, regrets piled on a heavy platter.

Why had he been so stupid? Why did he have to realize that he felt something /now/, when she was gone? Looking back at all the snide remarks aimed his way and the hits left on his arm due to his stupidity [he had a large bruise to speak for it] and all the times he'd felt her /looking/ at him, frustrated because he'd been flirting with M'gann or going to excessive lengths to impress her - he felt dumb. He was a genius, a scientific prodigy, but he knew he could be a complete idiot sometimes - everyone knew, her included. The times he'd been stupid had been frequent over the past few weeks.

But his mind was drawn from his thoughts when Martian Manhunter spoke up "My mind is clearer now. I remember what I was to tell you." He gestured around. "There are cryogenic pods in the mother ship that serve as the detention centers for those taken by the disintegration beams. Superboy, Aqualad, Artemis, and the rest of the League should be among them. Our mission holds a purpose after all." The relief in his voice was nothing compared to the relief in Wally's heart.

He felt like he could /breathe/ again - function. His determination was all the more renewed now that he knew Artemis was alive. He would be able to see her again and right his wrongs. This was a second chance.

"I've been scanning for League signals since we arrived and he's right, they're here - all of them." Robin grinned. "A little separated because of the difference in arrival time, but they're all here."

But Wally's head immediately turned. "Wait, dude, you've known all along? And you never said anything?" His voice was heavily drenched in frustration. He could have known Artemis was absolutely alive the entire time?

The younger teen grimaced. "I wanted to make sure it was an absolute rather than a maybe." He hadn't wanted to raise his friend's spirits if there was no lead for it.

Megan nodded then, raising from her position on the ground. "It's okay, Robin. Just so long as we get to see them again, that's all I really care about it." She managed a watery smile. That was the spirit.

Wally got up as well, fingers twitching at his sides, eager to find the team. "I can start freeing the pods." The sooner he saw Artemis, the better off he'd be - he needed to know this _was_ real.

He shook his head. "No. It won't do any good if we start freeing the pods when there are still active beams around the globe. The pods will fill faster than we can free them." Robin reasoned, bringing a hand to his chin. "But... If we can target the power core of the mothership, then all of the beams will be deactivated. The only problem is confining the explosion."

Wally eyed him quizzically. "Confining the explosion?" Before realization dawned on his face and he grimaced, a shudder rippling along his spine. "Right, right. Or else it'll explode all of the pods and there goes our purpose… and us." He wouldn't see her die again.

Robin nodded in confirmation. "We should split into teams. Two teams. A telepath with each. Miss M, stay with me. Manhunter, if you could go with KF to free Captain Atom, he's all we should need to keep the explosion contained. As soon as he's free, then you can start freeing the others. Something tells me it's going to take a while." He smiled wryly. "Free the League members first. They'll be the most help for managing the chaos and knocking dead any of the alien cannons still active."

He saluted to him, a renewed spring in his step. "Sounds like a solid plan."

Martian Manhunter nodded. "It does. We should get started."

Wally didn't need to be told twice.

[OoOoOoO]

" _Most of the League members are in a similar area, but it's prime that you get to Atom first. That means no jumping the gun to find Artemis, Wally."_ There was a teasing quality in Robin's mental instructions that wouldn't have been there prior to these revelations; it was refreshing - it was hope.

Wally's response was a little stunted, realizing just how much he'd let on throughout this mission. _"Yeah, well, bet you wouldn't be saying that if it was Zatanna in there."_ That got him to shut up just a bit.

 _"Hey!"  
_  
He continued speeding past over-filled pods, Manhunter not far behind him as they searched. _"And for the record, I'm just worried about a teammate, okay? She was the first to go."_ He felt like he should keep the record straight - at least to them. He was still realizing some things by himself and he wanted to do that with himself, not anyone else. _"She's probably a little freaked out and, you know, /cold/."_ Cryogenic pods weren't known for their heated temperatures. The aliens probably liked it cold, whatever species they were.

 _"Keep telling yourself that."_ Robin snickered into the mental connection.

Wally grunted and didn't bother a retort as he sped to a stop in front of the pod that Robin had said would be housing Captain Atom. He wasn't looking as dazed as some of his roommates were when it came to the temperature, but he still wasn't looking too lively. "Hey, Cap, we're gonna get you out!" Unsure of whether or not he could be heard, Wally glanced over his shoulder as Martian Manhunter landed behind him. "Any ideas on how to crack these pods open?"

"My ability to density shift will not be helpful to anyone other than myself and I'm not the one trying to escape the pods." He told him, raising a hand to telekinetically break from a chunk of ship, clenching his jaw as he brought it to slam into the pod. The blow was absorbed and made no impact, much to their dismay.

"Completely organic cryogenic pods; don't see that every day." The speedster shook his head and tapped into the mental link once more. _"I'm going to need a scan for weaknesses on these pods, Rob. They're a little too organic for a proper smash and dash and it's a little hard to find a hinge."  
_  
Naturally, Robin was a little immersed with M'gann in fighting off a team of them. _"You're going to have to give me a minute, KF."_ He grit into the connection, ducking behind a corridor in the core to salvage a few seconds. He brought up his screen, scanning a bit of the structure; he wasn't within arms reach of a pod. _"I'm not near a pod, but there's bound to be structural weakness somewhere. It's not indestructible. This ship definitely isn't."_

His shoulders sagged. Well, that was helpful - not. Superbody would be pretty useful right about now, organic cryogenics or not. He should have assumed that the pods would be more complicated; they were massive and overstuffed, unlike individual pods they often saw when cryogenics was involved. " _Hate to put more pressure on you guys, but there has to be a release switch on your side. These pods aren't responding to our efforts."_ People were holed up in there like sardines in a tin - he couldn't take risks. _"And you gotta find it fast!"_ He urged as soon as he whirled and found Martian Manhunter beating down some of the lackeys. This wasn't looking as hopeful as he'd anticipated.

" _I don't want these things to go on lockdown mode!"_ Wally insisted, speeding around the corner. " _And I also can't see us doing without one of the only two extremely useful people here."_

" _Offense taken."_ Robin retorted, but left the safety net of the building to approach the core more head on. Thankfully, M'gann had been able to hold off the assault single-handedly, fueled by her determination to see Conner.

" _We're on it, now!"_ She announced mentally, keeping Robin steady with her telekinesis as he neared the core. It was glowing and seemed to have a pulse that drew them in, but as organic as it was, there was the core - and then there was the control center - and that was what they needed to even think of being able to shut down the pods.

" _I can see it!"_ He announced and allowed himself to be brought over to it, quickly examining the foreign language in front of him. "Shouldn't be a problem at all." He muttered to himself, glancing over his shoulder. "Eyes on any more attackers." He told M'gann, his attention flitting back to the controls. Neither of them would be of any use in a pod themselves. Running a scan of the language to decipher it, he had to work on hacking into the controls. "Come on, come on…" He uttered, watching his screen load and transmit, before the foreign words were transformed into English controls.

Robin grinned. "Perfect."

[OoOoOoO]

The persistence of the shooting was extremely disconcerting to Wally. He had speed on his side, and Martian Manhunter had just about everything else. These weren't the typical beams, so he was of little to no help, but he was also getting impatient. The plan was looking less and less successful by the minute and just like that, Martian Manhunter was transported by the beams, too.

"Great, just great." He squeezed tighter into the crevice between the pods. _"Any day would be great, Rob! Manhunter just got transported! Who said splitting up was a good idea again?"_

Opting to ignore that part of his call, he instead said: _"Prepare for release! You're going to have a whole lot of people coming your way!"_

Wally peeked his head out, watching the team of alien machines retreat to the direction of the control center, grimacing. _"And you're going to have a lot of aliens coming your way! You two be careful; I'll route some of the League members in your direction!"_

But Robin had been right. Seconds after the warning, the pods sprung open, chilling the air with the temperature of the pods. Everyone was a bit cold [some even a little frozen], but once he was able to crawl out, people were already moving and panicking, though just a little slower than usual as they got used to a fairly normal temperature. But all he needed was Captain Atom and /fast/.

Sprinting out from his spot and maneuvering around people, he located him fairly quickly - the guy stuck out a little, especially given he had full range of movement. Oddly enough, the color of him blended in a little with the gray-skinned retreaters. Wally grasped his shoulders to get his attention. "Robin and Miss Martian need you in the control center and fast." He pointed in the direction of it. "You have to be careful so you don't wind up in another one of these."

Captain Atom nodded with an exhale. "Gather the other League members. You're going to need them for this." Well, he wasn't wrong, or the first person to suggest that. Did he seriously look like someone who couldn't handle a situation?

Well, bad question.

As soon as Atom was sent off, Wally sped atop one of the opening pods, cupping his hands over his mouth. "Guys! GUYS! People from the pods! Earthlings!" But to no avail. The massive volume of thousands of panicking people awakening from a chilly nap overpowered him instantly. He was going to need a bigger voice.

At least his position gave him some visual clearance and he squinted around, searching for a particular color. Green, green, - green! Green Arrow! He leapt from pod to pod until he was able to reach him. Just as he suspected, Black Canary was near - the time of their vaporization had been in tandem. Their teeth were chattering a bit and they were a little blue around the collar, but they were fine and usable.

"Black Canary!" He shouted, sifting through bodies, not afraid to push and shove. "I need you to get their attention. Everyone's extremely distraught, and well," May as well borrow one of Robin's sayings. "We really need them to get traught right now." He lowered his voice seriously. "Can you manage?"

Sparing a glance at Green Arrow, Black Canary nodded, breathing a shuddered breath. "I can." With the help of him and Green Arrow, she clambered atop one of the pod tops, needing the additional help before her muscles could cooperate. Still shaking herself from the bitter chill, she summoned all of her vocal power to let out a lengthy canary screech. Heads turned, screams stopped [or at least lessened], and attention was on the blonde. Not long afterwards, several League members flew and/or separated from the crowd to join her, including Superman. Everyone listened to Superman.

Wally grinned to himself: success.

[OoOoOoO]

By the time Robin, Miss Martian, and Captain Atom were able to explode the core and contain it, a general order was restored among the mass of people. It was going to be a hell of a cleanup worldwide and an effort to get everyone back to where they belonged, but in the end the world was saved. That's all that mattered.

Wally didn't stick around to help man the masses; he wouldn't be much help in that regard. Seeing Artemis alive and breathing was his priority, even if he was having a little difficulty finding her. However, that was made easy when M'gann was able to restore the psychic link among all of them. Something about the makeup of the pods had rendered any psychic connection unhelpful.

" _Where are all of you? There's too many people around and I'm as stiff as a board."_ She sounded frustrated and alive and wonderful. He'd never heard anything better.

" _Have you seen Conner at all?"_ M'gann interrupted.

" _I'm here, M'gann, but Artemis and I are having the same problem. Too many people."_

And just like that, everyone was accounted for when the last message from Kaldur echoed through their heads: _"It would seem I am having the same problem."_

" _Welcome back, guys."_ Robin said, the grin radiating through his words. _"But… It might be a while before we find you. We're in a deadlock, too. You'd be surprised how panicked millions of people in an alien ship can be. Hang tight!"_

[OoOoOoO]

Artemis, however, was having excessive difficulty maneuvering through people. And it was a bit difficult when the podded area was as massive as it was, as well as extremely similar. So like much of her team had opted for [unbeknownst to her], she clambered atop a pod, giving herself a vantage point over the overly populated room, as well as a place to sit and take a breather. Yeah, she wasn't going anywhere, but she was finally feeling a bit of warmth in her fingers and toes, so that was a good sign at least, right? Now there was enough body heat in the room to contribute to global warming.

Reaching into her quiver, she produced one of her arrow prototypes: a flare. May as well get someone's attention. Perhaps it could help her out of here do she could contribute a little. Sitting here wasn't doing her any good and she was itching to do something. A little activity in her bones would shake the residual coldness.

" _Guys, I'm setting off a flare. If one of you, preferably a meta, could come and get me, that'd be great. Still kind of stuck."_ She announced to the team, expanding her bow and notching the arrow, aiming upwards and releasing. It gained height until it burst with a brief, weak spark of light. Artemis' shoulders sagged: there's a reason why it was a prototype.

But that was all Wally needed. Seeing the spot of light amidst his search, he was able to zero in on her location - which was far away, but wasn't a problem. His heart was already hammering in his chest excitedly and that was all he fuel he needed as he went back to pod hopping, muttering a few apologies when he'd run into the odd person. The minute it took to run to her was agonizingly long, but when he got to her, he was out of words.

Her head turned and she saw a speedy yellow blur. Her lips automatically curled upwards when he skidded to a halt on the pod and leapt down to stand next to the one she'd propped herself up on. "Took you long enough to get here." But her quip was lost as he reached up to hoist her down on the ground with him, earning a startled sound.

Don't get him wrong, he knew she was gorgeous - had known for a long time, and the fluorescent lighting was capable of marring anyone's complexion, but he'd never seen anything so beautiful in his life. Wordlessly, he swept her into a hug, a tight one, feeling her lithe form inside of his arms. He could hear a surprised sound elicit from her and she even stiffened a little, but it didn't take long for her to become receptive to the embrace.

He pressed his face into the side of her head, inhaling, grip tightening. His heart was beating out of his chest and simultaneously swelling with happiness and relief, she was _alive_. Artemis was alive.

She cleared her throat eventually, startled by the affection, but not disliking it. It was oddly nice. "Wally?" This was the guy who'd barely begun to warm up to her, after all. She'd been treading on eggshells with him for weeks and weeks [albeit a little less in recent days], and yet here he was - hugging her like a lifeline. They were better teammates now, she'd made an effort with him - he'd been occasionally pretty friendly, serving as good personal backup on missions. But still, that hardly served as a reason for /this/.

But the spell broke as soon as she said his name and he relinquished his hold on her, hands speedily shooting to scratch at his head, arms rushedly folding, a series of awkward, speedy fumbles following until he settled with either hand on either hip. Well, this was weird.

Yet when she met his eyes, those obnoxiously green eyes, all she saw was a tumult of emotions she had difficulty defining. Well, maybe she _did_ see a little sadness in his irises.

"You - you were dead." He began morosely, face screwing up as he even said those words. "Well, we thought you were, when you were taken by the beam. I watched you just - disintegrate, so did everyone else. And I just - I didn't know if you were still going to be around. And I was scared, you scared me, and I just," With each word, the pace of his speech intensified and became less and less comprehensible until he just stopped talking and stared at her for an achingly long moment. "I didn't think I'd get to see you again."

Her own gaze softened a little in understanding, but also dropped in subtle disappointment. He'd been overcome with emotion because he'd watched her practically die. No one else had died. A teammate had died in the field and he was upset about it. He was expressing the same sadness anyone would. "Well, I'm here now."

A settled smile blossomed on his lips. "I know. And now that you are, I just thought that maybe I should tell you that I- "

But his words were cut off as a loud shriek of happiness echoed in their heads: _"I FOUND SUPERBOY!"_ And then everything went black.

[OoOoOoO]

Artemis had to admit, the entire day had been extreme - even if she'd been the one to come out the least affected [subtracting the fact she'd entered a coma from being convinced she'd died]. It was a lot to take in. Knowing that M'gann was powerful enough to influence everyone in that way. Knowing that her death had affected them all so severely. She had - a family, here. A real family. People who cared about her. It was a lot to take in.

And she cared about them, too. All of them.

To know that Manhunter had to go in and forcefully change the outcome of things to downplay the effect on all of their psyches, well, that said something. Even going in and knowing it was fake was no match for their emotions; M'gann's emotions even more specifically.

She had to go home and get some rest. Everything about her was sore and she was still finding a hard time shaking the chill from the mental cryogenics, but she needed to get her bow and quiver. Now she felt obligated to make sure that flare prototype actually worked.

After finally getting the go ahead medically, she was able to abandon the scene of the crime and instead wander to the TV room to fetch her the two things, or at least she wanted to. Instead she heard loud voices echoing from the kitchen and she didn't think it was a good time to intrude. Ducking around the corner, she found the desire to listen irresistible, especially when she was able to pick up the voices of Wally and Robin. What could they possibly be talking so heatedly about? After that, she didn't think anyone was strong enough to have an argument - at least for the rest of the day.

"Wally, you have to admit your reaction to Artemis' death wasn't - the normal reaction to a teammate's death." Robin tried in a softer tone, lowering his voice.

She could hear the acute sound of his sneakers pacing the ground.

Back and forth and back and forth.

"Rob, I know. You think I don't? I know that. I do. And I don't know /why/."

"You know why."

Wally shook his head vigorously. "I /don't/ know. I don't. Don't tell me I do, because I don't, and that's all I've been thinking about since we woke up from that stupid simulation!" He grunted, slamming his fists on the countertop, finally just settling on his elbows and hunching himself over. He was frustrated.

She turned her head around the corner subtly, peeking in to see Robin approaching him, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Wally, you didn't react that way when Conner and Kaldur were lost, just Artemis."

But her will to listen increased tenfold while diminishing at the same time as she buried herself in that revelation. Kaldur and Superboy had been taken, too? And Wally - had reacted to /her/ death? Just hers? Why?

Her eyes narrowed on the scene, fingers clenching the doorway.

The speedster sighed heavily, muffled by countertop until he raised his head, eyes studying the makeup of the counter fiercely. "I know. But I don't think I'm ready to come to terms with /why/ just yet. I mean, dude, I can't even look at her without getting sad! All I can see is her - evaporating. That's all I can see. It worked out, yeah? We were able to save all of them thanks to Manhunter's interference, but what if that were to happen in real time? What if really lost everyone to a threat we couldn't control?" Wally met Robin's eyes unflinching, a baleful underlining not aimed at him, but at whatever threat he could imagine taking them down. "I can't lose her. Not again. Not like that. I just - feel it."

Robin nodded very slowly, tilting his head downwards and pocketing his hands. "But you can't control that, and I'm pretty sure Artemis would kick your butt to kingdom come if she heard you say that."

He laughed to himself, straightening but maintaining his grip on the counter. "Yeah." He glanced in his direction. "She would." But his expression sobered up in a fierce deadpan. "You can't tell anyone about this, especially not her. I'm not ready for her to know any of - this, and I don't think I'm ready to do anything about it. She doesn't even like me."

Artemis thought quite differently about that last part.

"Remember who you're talking to? King of secrets. Won't say anything."

"I mean it! No jokes or jabs or references. Absolutely silence."

Robin raised his hands in a scout's honor position. "I won't say anything! But I am going to say that if you want to try and get on her good side, you should try and be nicer."

Wally rolled his eyes. "I don't need /you/ to tell me that. I've been trying, okay? I have been. Don't know how receptive she's going to be, but I'll try. It's a little hard to shake the first impressions between the two of us. I'll forever be some Baywatch knock-off with a big mouth and a bottomless stomach."

"Eventually she'll see the real you." Robin offered hopefully, although grinning with,"The one that includes all of that, except with a nice guy bit, too."

"Hey! Unhelpful!" But after that, Artemis didn't feel a need to listen any longer. She ducked around the corner and flattened her back against the wall, letting the conversation sink in. What was she supposed to take away from all of that? Did he like her? Have a crush on her like he did on Megan? Did he even /want/ to like her or was it some involuntary thing he was disgusted to be possessing? This was /a lot/ to think about on top of what already happened today.

Although she couldn't foresee herself - hating what she just heard. She liked Wally, when she set aside his annoying personality and his freaky metabolism and his lady's man facade and his magic-hating-stubborn-brain. Well, she might even like all of those things because they made him _Wally_. Oh god, what was she saying - thinking?

She shook her head vigorously and posed herself away from the wall. She needed to get home before the impact of this simulation really sent her into a tailspin. Backing up several paces, she made sure her heeled boots clicked on the ground as she took her walk to the kitchen, giving both Robin and Wally ample warning to stop their conversation. She wasn't going to reveal having heard any of this to them. It would be Wally's little secret after all.

She did spare a glance at his face when she walked in and headed for the couch, and he looked startled and saddened. It made her heart clench in the most uncomforting of ways. "There it is," She muttered to announce her purpose, collapsing her bow and shouldering her quiver.

There was dead silence as she left the room, even glancing at them once more over her shoulder. She hoped her eyes communicated the only thing her subconscious was really letting her think at the moment.

'I can't lose you either, Wally.'

And she hated herself for it.

[OoOoOoO]

AN: I really hope you enjoyed! Italicized sentences were meant to be psychic conversations, and / or italicized single words were meant to be emphasis.

And this was also meant to be a rewrite of Failsafe, whether instead of going in to take them out, Manhunter went in to change the turnout of things, making it a happy ending rather than a sad one, hence the use of cryogenic pods and /actual/ Zeta transportation.

Reviews are my life; don't kill me!


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